About Us
Friends
Supporters
Shed 11
Gallery
What's On
Adam Award
Past Events
Links
Contact Us
Site map
Adam Portraiture Award and Exhibition
The Adam Foundation sponsors a biennial award for portraiture. Winners
'Lucy', 'Meren and Josie', 'Hans', 'The Blue Girl' and 'Kayte' are in our on-line gallery and appear in the logo above.
Pictured at right are Denis Adam, benefactor and Avenal McKinnon, Director of
NZPG.
Adam Award 2010 - Now closed in Wellington
On Tour
See the People's Choice winners
Read about the winning entries. Ninety-two of the best entries hung in our gallery at Shed 11 until 11 April 2010. A selection (300kb pdf) will tour, starting at Lopdell House, Auckland, 15 April to 6 June 2010.
See the Wellington highlights and the opening ceremony.
See the paintings and the catalogue
Pictured at right is Harriet Bright artist of the winning painting 'Kayte' with Director Avenal McKinnon and judge Andrew Sayers.
At left are the highly commended paintings. Top is Philip Butler, artist, painted by Rosalind Fair and below is a painting of Fleur Sullivan, titled Figurehead, by Donna Demente
See our press release regarding public participation and number and quality of entries and our archive page for original documentation.
A conditon of the Adam Award is that the The New Zealand Portrait Gallery keeps the winner of the Competition for its own collection. These cannot be permanently hung at present.
Documentation for entering the 2008 and 2010 competitions can be found on our archives page.
History
“The first Adam Award (then temporarily discontinued) was in 1990, soon after the Portrait Gallery had been incorporated as a Trust. At the time the Judge was the late Shona McFarlane, and the winner was Jo L’Estrange.”
In 2000 Marianne Muggeridge won the inaugural New Zealand Portrait Gallery's National Portrait Competition judged by Charles Saumarez Smith, Director of London's National Portrait Gallery.
She won again in 2002 in the renamed Adam Portraiture Award.
The name Adam Portraiture Award has been the name ever since.
The winner in 2004 was Ryuzo Nishida, judged by Dr Marc Pachter, Director of the National (Smithsonian) Portrait Gallery, Washington D.C. Ryuzo Nishida's Self Portrait was created from 12,000 acrylic painted nails, attached to canvas.
Marc Pachter also awarded a Highly Commended prize to Claudia McKay ( Wellington) and commended prizes to Sandro Kopp ( Wellington), Janet Muir ( Auckland), Sandra Wilson ( Lower Hutt), John Badcock ( Geraldine), Marianne Muggeridge ( Wellington) and Eleanor Wright (Auckland).”
The winner for 2006 was Freeman White, judged by James Holloway, Director of the Scottish National Portrait Gallery, Edinburgh.
The winner in 2008 was Irene Ferguson with The Blue Girl.
Other categories of The National Portrait Competition of
2000:
Sculpture - winner Terry Stringer
Multimedia - Sean Kerr
Photography - Janice Abo Cianis